


Mistake

by Philosophizes



Series: Bad Decisions Series Backstory Fics [13]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Adults, Awkward Family, Children, Gen, Humans, Religion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-03
Updated: 2013-01-03
Packaged: 2017-11-23 13:26:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,667
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/622660
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Philosophizes/pseuds/Philosophizes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Vatican City sits his daughter down to speak of some things that have been weighing on his mind.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Mistake

Cristoforo Pietri was anxiously awaiting the arrival of his daughter.

It was time to admit the truth to her.

_It has been too long. I should have told her before, but I have to tell her now, and hope she does not hate me afterwards._

He was waiting in one of the Vatican’s hidden gardens, where the noise of Rome didn’t quite reach.

A Swiss Guard appeared, escorting his daughter.

If Giovanna was confused about why they were in the garden instead of in his small set of rooms, like usual, she didn’t show it. She just smiled brightly, sweetly in that way of hers – _I am fortunate to have such a good-natured daughter; please, God, don’t let this secret I’ve kept ruin her_ \- and sat down on the stone bench next to him.

“ _Salve, Patre_!”

Vatican City smiled back at her, as best he could.

“ _Salve,_ Gianna.”

He spent the next few moments staring into the depths of the fishpond, gathering his thoughts.

_St. Peter, grant me strength-_

“Giovanna, I…I have a confession to make.”

She tilted her head questioningly.

“What, _Patre_?”

Cristoforo took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and said:

“I have always thought that you were a mistake.”

* * *

He didn’t dare to open his eyes and glance over at Giovanna, but it was all to picture her frozen in shock, maybe even crying-

“I... Gilbert was the one who first mentioned children to me, after your uncles found your cousin. For the longest time, that was the only thing I heard him speak of. I listened to him, as I always have, and the idea of children… took root, somewhere in the back of my mind.”

Cristoforo sighed heavily.

“I cannot blame him; only myself. I am the one who gave in. I am the one who did something I was forbidden to do. I, too, found myself wanting a child, and we began looking into our options together- two single, potential fathers, looking for children to raise.”

He did not want to look at Giovanna.

“Gilbert had thought that Hungary would oblige him- us- but she refused. As did Belgium, and then Portugal, and Albania, and- everyone. He and I have too much history, I suppose. I suggested adoption, or a donor, but Gilbert wouldn’t hear of it. He wanted the mother of his child to be someone we knew. He said he wouldn’t deprive any child of his of a- a _mother_.

We tried Hungary again. Still she refused, and the third time Gilbert asked, and the fourth- I would have asked Sicily, but she is my _sister_ , and- we knew no humans well enough to ask. Then one day Gilbert began listing all the female Nations, and realized that neither of us had talked to Israel.”

“ _Ama_ ,” Giovanna whispered.

“Yes. Your mother, she was- we are- the three of us have shared a long and turbulent history. We never would have considered it, but Gilbert was desperate by that point, and I- I cou- Israel refused us initially; but she had heard of the way Gilbert had gone to the rest of the world asking for help; and she also wanted a family…”

The Vatican resolutely told himself that he would _not_ look. He had to keep talking, get this all out, and he couldn’t do that if he looked at what her expression _must_ be by now-

He heard Giovanna shift on the bench next to him, and stand. Gravel crunched and shifted as she took a step.

And another.

Another.

Another, another, another another another-

* * *

Cristoforo surged out of his seat and spun his daughter around.

He stood there with his mouth slightly open for a moment, stunned and shamed by her tears and the way that she looked so much like her uncles-

Giovanna tried to pull away, feebly.

“Y-Y-Y-You don’t want me,” she sobbed, voice hoarse.

Unthinkingly, he pulled her into a tight hug.

“ _Non_ , _non_ , _non_ , Gianna, I said I _thought_ , _putabo,_ no more, no more, _non iam_ -”

“ _Patre!_ ” she screamed through her tears, and Cristoforo’s heart broke a little.

“Gianna, Gianna,” he said quietly. “Please, _please_ , stop crying. _Si vīs_?”

His daughter shook her head violently.

“ _N-Non mē volas;  Patre, potebasne quam non vol_ -”

“I _do_ want you. I _do_.”

He held her arms tightly and took a small step back, looking Giovanna in the eyes this time.

“I realized that I had betrayed my position and my vows early on,” the Vatican told her softly. “I thought I had made a terrible mistake. But children are a gift, all life is, a gift from God, and I- with all these centuries I have lived, it took me too long to notice when God entrusted me with something as precious as you, as my own daughter, though I had broken my promise to Him.”

“ _P-Pa-_ ”

Cristoforo kissed her forehead and pulled her back against him again.

“I am so sorry that I thought that way. I am sorry I hurt you, in telling- but this was not something that should have gone unsaid.  I know- I realize now that it cannot have been easy on you, moving constantly between Jerusalem and Rome and Berlin, with us fighting and disagreeing as much as we do. I should have put more thought into my choices- but I am so, so happy and fortunate to have you. _Tē amo, Johanna_.”

Giovanna sniffled and hugged her father back, tightly.

“ _Tē quoque amo, Patre_.”

They stood there for a moment in silence before Giovanna spoke again.

“ _Patre_?”

“Yes, Gianna?”

“What did you mean, earlier, when you said _‘now’_?”

“I do not-”

“You were talking about when _Ama_ agreed to have Cass and I, and you said _‘and now’_ -”

The Vatican inhaled sharply.

“I- Gianna, your brother, he- I think that it was not good for him, either, this… ‘family’ of ours. He was supposed to come see me yesterday and he- Cassiel fell into the Tiber from Ponte Vittorio Emanuele-”

She pulled back in shock.

“ _What? Patre-_ ”

“I think he jumped,” her father whispered.

Giovanna’s eyes went wide, and she grabbed his hand.

“ _Patre_ ; _Patre_ , _where-_ ”

“They took him to San Pietro Fatebenefratelli-”

Giovanna grabbed Cristoforo’s hand and ran for the city.

* * *

Gilbert jolted awake violently and one hand went for his sword (or his gun, he wasn’t sure but he _knew_ he had a weapon _somewhere_ ) and the other arm came up immediately to slam his elbow or his fist (both if possible) into whoever it was that was _attacking_ -

_" _Gilbert! Sē quiesce! Non pugnāris; Borussiā, nemo pugnant-”__

-someone grabbed his arm and there was a hand over his mouth and _wait I know that voice-_

He realized he hadn’t opened his eyes yet.

The lights were too bright to be from torches or lanterns and not right to be the sun-

- _electricity_ -

-his mind supplied for him-

- _twenty-first century, electricity, microcomputers, gas-free cars, united Germany_ -

Germany.

Right.

Gilbert pushed himself out of the chair he’d fallen asleep in and swept the Vatican up into a tight hug, nearly lifting him off the ground.

“ _Entschụldigung_ , Kit-”

Cristoforo sighed and decided against trying to get Prussia to actually call him by his name this time.

“How is Cassiel?” he asked instead.

Gilbert’s eyes flickered over to the hospital bed.

Giovanna was already there, leaning over her half-brother to touch his face and lean in closer to get a better look-

“Cass, _scio ut simulas_!” she said loudly, thumping his chest. “ _Tuum oculi aperi_!”

The man laughed and rolled over on his side.

“ _Okay!_ Okay; Gianna, you got me!”

Cassiel coughed harshly a few times before sitting up and smiling widely, the gesture as lopsided as it always had been.

Inside, Gilbert sighed in relief. His son was okay.

Cristoforo had climbed up onto the bed to hug his ‘son’ tightly.

“Do not _do_ that to us, Cassiel! We were _worried!_ ”

“ _Patre_ , it was just some _water_.”

“I have seen people _drown_ in the Tiber, Cassiel, do not make light of such things!” the Vatican ordered, pulling back to give him a stern glare. “And that bridge! You could have broken your legs or your spine-”

Cassiel looked down at himself and wiggled his toes under the blankets experimentally.

“But I didn’t.”

Gilbert took a deep breath and reached over to take his son’s hand. He squeezed it slightly, and Cassiel looked over at him, still smiling a little.

“Hey _, Vater_! Wow- you came all the way down from Berlin, didn’t you?”

His father tried to return the smile, but couldn’t really manage it.

“ _Ja_ , I did. Cass; how- how did you end up _in_ the Tiber, anyway?”

“Oh! Well, you can see Castel Sant’Angelo really well from Ponte Emanuele, you know, and usually I don’t pay too much attention to it but with the way the light was shining on it looked _amazing_ , so I was standing up on that nice stone railing the bridge has to get a better look and try to memorize it so I could draw it later, and then this _massive_ group of tourists comes by- I think it was some American school group on a trip, because everybody looked pretty young and they were all shoving each other around and laughing and one of them got shoved into me and I unbalanced and fell off!”

Cristoforo gripped the front of his hospital gown.

“You- You did not… _jump?_ ”

Cassiel looked at him like he was crazy.

“But there are so many amazing things in the world to go see and do and discover and stuff! Why would I want to die _now?_ ”

Gilbert finally managed to smile and reached around Cassiel and Cristoforo to grab Giovanna, and then somehow managed to fit them all into a hug.

“So,” Cass said, his voice muffled by his half-sister’s shoulder. “Was _Ama_ too busy to come?”

Prussia’s eyes widened slightly and he looked down at the Vatican.

“ _Shit,_ ” he muttered. “Hey, did _you_ call Israel?”

**Author's Note:**

> Salve (Latin, Italian): Hello  
> Patre (Latin): Father; when speaking to the one in question  
> Ama (Hebrew): Mother  
> Putabo (Latin): I thought  
> Non iam (Latin): no longer/no more  
> Si vīs (Latin): Please  
> N-Non mē volas; Patre, potebasne quam non vol- (Latin): Y-You don't want me; Father, why don't you want-  
> Tē [quoque] amo (Latin): I love you [too]  
> Sē quiesce! Non pugnāris; Borussiā, nemo pugnant- (Latin): Wake up! You are not being attacked, Prussia, no one is attacking-  
> Entschụldigung (German): I'm sorry  
> Scio ut simulas! Tuum oculi aperi! (Latin): I know that you are faking! Open your eyes!
> 
> Johanna is the Latin and German form of Giovanna, usually rendered in English as Joan or Joanne.


End file.
